If the Washington Football Team's defense is to become the powerhouse it's expected to be in 2021, it will undoubtedly be led by ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat.
With their disruptive force on either end, Washington has already shown how it can collapse a pocket and cave in around an opposing rushing attack. But it's how Young and Sweat have clicked together this preseason — and their understanding of their roles towards the unit as a whole — that gives Ron Rivera hope that they can make a truly transformative impact in their second season together.
"What I love is how [Chase] and Montez have connected," Rivera told 106.7 The Fan's Brian Mitchell and JP Finlay on Thursday. "I love the fact that they understand and respect how important the tackles are with their rush and the coverage."
"You know, it's not one of those things where you have a guy, or two guys, when you talk about Montez, too... they're not the only thoroughbreds that you have," he said. "I mean they're pure athletes, they're great athletes, but they know and understand how important the unit is and then the team.
"Because, I know listening to Jonathan Allen talk about this, is one of the things that he felt that early in his career, because they weren't getting these gigantic leads, they were limited on what they could do and how they could do it. And the feeling is, man, if we can play some good offense and get some of these leads, our guys can really show who they are. So who knows?"
"That's why it's great to have guys like Chase and Tez and Jonathan, that understand just how important it is to get behind the offense and support them as well," he said.
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Rivera described Young, who was named a team captain as a rookie, as having an "infectious" presence about him that rubs off on the rest of the team, which should continue to bode well for him as a leader entering his second season since going second overall in the 2020 draft.
"You know he can be very good. He really can," Rivera said. "And the sky's the limit with him because of his work ethic, because of his natural talents and abilities, and the guys around him."
"When a guy has infectious energy and he brings it along, and not just to himself or his little area of guys, or his position of guys or his group of guys, but the whole team, that's invaluable," he said. "And he's one of those guys. He's a high-energy guy. He's constantly challenging and pushing, prodding."
"And it helps because guys feel that, hey, we're all in this together," Rivera continued. "So typically what happens, he comes off the field, he goes over, they do their corrections and as soon as they're done, bam, he's right over by the offensive guys and he's on 'em. And it's great because I really do think that guys that have that type of ability to raise others are gonna be great players."
Listen to Rivera starting at the 18-minute mark below.
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